People underestimate the importance of local journalism, but only through local media can we truly bring development to the grassroots, says Ibrahim Adeyemi at the in-person training of the 2025 cohort of the Journalism for Liberty Fellowship (JLF) held in Abuja.
Hosted by the Liberalist Centre, a Nigerian-based pro-freedom think tank, Journalism for Liberty Fellowship is the project of the Liberalist Centre to educate and empower journalists, and forms part of coordinated efforts to spread liberty and prosperity in Africa. Held in Abuja on June 28, the training equipped fellows in Nigeria with skills to report using pro-freedom angle.
Ibrahim Adeyemi, investigations editor at HumAngle and one of the facilitators at the JLF event, emphasised the need to empower people to hold power and authorities accountable for a free and prosperous society. Speaking on “Reporting Local Stories with a Pro-Freedom Perspective”, Adeyemi explained the importance of humanising data and using it to tell impactful stories.
“Journalists should focus on impactful storytelling and humanise data. There are thousands of stories we don’t tell because they feel like nothing can come out of it. They don’t realise that for every local story, there is a national angle. You just need the right question,” said Adeyemi.
During her session, “Solution Journalism: Constructive Approach to Pro-Freedom Reporting,” Zubaida Baba Ibrahim, a sub-editor at Nigeria Health Watch, spoke on the techniques to telling pro-freedom stories from the lens of solutions journalism. She explained that solutions journalism is effective in spotlighting local solutions to developmental issues in every society.
“In solutions journalism, what you are trying to get to the bottom of is what people are doing. Ask what is being done, what is working, and what strategies led to the response,” Zubaida said.
Highlighting the importance of local reporting and solutions journalism in promoting pro-freedom principles, Abdullah Tijani, Managing Editor at The Liberalist, stated that these forms of reporting lay the foundation of a free society. He further explained the role journalism plays in advancing pro-freedom principles, saying limited government, individual freedom and free markets are essential components of a free society.
In separate interviews, participants admitted that pro-freedom journalism is necessary to the growth of people and societies, emphasising the relevance of the boot camp in advancing their work.
“I have been wondering how to really practice journalism for liberty in practical terms without the people feeling as a journalist you are working for the government or without the government feeling attacked, but this bootcamp has opened my eyes to the possibilities of practising journalism for liberty,” says Zainab Jumare, a 2025 Journalism for Liberty fellow.
Expressing excitement about integrating pro-freedom journalism into broadcasting, Abi Inalegwu, a radio producer, says, “I came to understand what it means to write for liberty and to produce radio programmes for liberty.
On her own part, Oyeyemi Abolade, one of the participants, says the boot camp helped her discover that one “can do stories that make people grow”.
“We need to empower people to hold power and authorities accountable,” said Adeyemi.
A report written by Favour Adeboye, Programs Intern at Liberalist Centre
